Cavaliers eliminated by Indiana

    The Cleveland Cavaliers did almost everything right in the regular season.

History tells us that means little in the postseason, and sudden flaws, along with a good opponent on a hot shooting streak, eliminated the Cavaliers last night. The Indiana Pacers survived the Cavaliers' best shot early and controlled the second half of a 114-105 game five win.

Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points, and Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers in their losing effort

I plan on a future look at the Cavalier season and the tremendous problems that they face this off-season.

Swashbucklings

1)  The key play in this one?

Donovan Mitchell was fouled by Aaron Nesmith with 1:49 remaining on a three-pointer.

Mitchell goes to the line for three shots, and Cleveland is down six.

Mitchell misses all three free throws, and even though Cleveland would get as close as three points, I never had the feeling that the Cavaliers had a chance to pull this out.

2)  Give Donovan Mitchell tons of credit for fighting through the series on one leg, and he rolled up points, but the leg clearly cost him with his shooting, eight of twenty-five in this game.

Points for toughness and effort, but the facts are simple- Mitchell didn't shoot the ball well in the series.

3) Another disappearing act in the playoffs from Jarrett Allen, who finished with nine points and only four rebounds.

I like Allen, who is as personable and likable as a professional can be, but in three postseasons with Cleveland, Allen was bullied by the Knicks, sat out through a rib injury against the Celtics, and vanished against the Pacers.

Of the Cleveland "Core Four", Allen is the easiest to try to move and try something different.

The problem with that is, every other NBA team has seen Allen's postseason play as well, and who can you receive to improve the team?

4) Max Strus played well in the postseason, but he threw up a clunker in game five, finishing tied with me for game five points and missing all nine of his shots.

5) Darius Garland's toe injury affected his play in his return, and his numbers showed it with eleven points, four for sixteen shooting, with six misses in six attempts from three.

Garland is also a fun player to root fo,r but his postseason shortcomings have been glaring, and it's fair to question if a team can go far with two undersized guards (Garland and Donovan Mitchell) that aren't defensive standouts.

6) The Cavaliers themselves need to evaluate how poor their shooting is in the playoffs and what they could do to improve.

Cleveland was the second-best team in three-point percentage in the regular season and tapered off as the worst of the eight teams in the playoff quarter-finals.

Woof.

7) Two players that Cleveland needs to move away from with their second-apron status (salary cap term) are Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade.

Neither are players that you can win with in the postseason, and between the two, Cleveland spends seventeen million dollars, eleven on Okoro and six on Wade.

Those salaries wouldn't allow the Cavaliers to miss the Salary Tax, but any savings help, and neither player would be too difficult to replace.

8) Give Indiana full credit for the series win, and same to their brutally underrated coach, Rick Carlisle, who I remember as a college player at Virginia!

Damn, time moves by fast!

Anyway, Indiana's push-the-pace style on both ends is going to cook a lot of teams, and they did so to Cleveland.

Were there circumstances for that victory?
Certainly, but that doesn't mean that Indiana wasn't the better team.

9) Indiana won all three games in Cleveland's Rocket Arena in the playoffs and won seven of nine games against Cleveland overall. This was no fluke, and I'm not sure homecourt is the advantage that it once was in the league.

That's a feeling and one without actual data, but it seems that visitors are winning at a rate better than previous seasons.

10) In the end, another excellent regular season feels hollow with a postseason exit that creates offseason questions.

Kenny Atkinson did an excellent job in the regular season but was outcoached by Rick Carlisle in the Indiana series.

I can give that a pass as it was Atkinson's first playoff season, and coaches need to gain experience there as players do.

There is plenty to be said and done between now and October, but for all the regular season brilliance, the Cavaliers had their chance to step forward and allow the league to see who they are.

For now, that team folded against adversity and melted on the bigger stage- the Cavaliers indeed  #Letemknow. 

Cavaliers pound Pacers, win Game Three

   Donovan Mitchell scored forty-three points, but the three missing players from game two played in game three as the Cleveland Cavaliers spanked the Indiana Pacers 126-104 in Indianapolis.

Max Strus scored twenty points while Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen each posted double-doubles for Cleveland.

Indiana leads the series two games to one, with game four Sunday night in Indianapolis.

Swashbucklings

1)  After three days of criticism and questions, the Cavaliers came out firing, and other than a small chunk of time in the second quarter, the Cavaliers led the entire game.

They did the same in game two and lost, but this time was different; it didn't have the feel of a team watching the clock and hoping to hold on.

2) Cleveland's three missing players from game two all returned for this game, with Evan Mobley having the most success with eighteen points, thirteen rebounds, and three blocks.

3) Darius Garland struggled with foul problems but finished with ten points and three assists.

Garland will be a big key should Cleveland win the series.

4) Cleveland's three-point shooting improved in success, if not percentage, as the Cavaliers hit fourteen from long range.

5) Max Strus played well with twenty points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.

Strus's game has picked up in the playoffs, and he is hustling all over the floor.

6)  Ty Jerome's struggles continued, hitting one of eight from the field, and Kenny Atkinson's patience in such an important game was short as Jerome played thirteen minutes.

Sam Merrill played more than Jerome (twenty minutes to thirteen), and it'll be interesting to see if the trend between the two continues.

7) Cleveland controlled Tyrese Haliburton as the Pacer star scored only four points on two for eight shooting.

Haliburton fell hard on his wrist in game two, and it could have affected his shooting.

8) The road team has won each of the three games in the series, and the win took Cleveland off the hot seat going into Sunday's game.

Win Sunday, and it's a best-of-three with home court advantage.

Lose it, and there is no room for error. 

Magnificent Mitchell not enough in Game Two

     Donovan Mitchell's forty-eight points weren't enough to hold off the late run of the Indiana Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton's three-pointer with two seconds to play gave Indiana a shocking 120-119 win in game two of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

The crippled Cavaliers played without Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and DeAndre Hunter, which handicapped them but they don't grade basketball games on a curve, and the Pacers return home to Indianapolis for games three and four with a two games to none lead.

Max Strus finished with twenty-three points and Jarrett Allen with twenty-two, supporting Cleveland.

Swashbucklings

1) Donovan Mitchell is a warrior.

He left everything he had on the floor, and I'm unsure of his game two status, considering the pounding he took during this game.

2) Mitchell wasn't perfect; he's still struggling from three, hitting only one of seven attempts.

It's hard to criticize Mitchell, considering the game he played, but his game becomes much more effective when more of those shots from the distances drop.

3) I wasn't sure whether to tip my cap or be angry at Tyrese Haliburton for his "marbles" strut after drilling the game-winner a la Tanaka in Major League 2.

4) Ty Jerome played twenty-eight minutes, shooting one for fourteen from the floor.

Jerome had a fine season, but he's not the type of player who flourishes with more than fifteen to eighteen minutes.

Currently, he's forced to log higher minutes, and his deficiencies are showing.

5) Speaking of forced, Cleveland was also forced to give too many minutes to players who are afraid/ineffective in shooting the ball.

Dean Wade did grab ten rebounds in his thirty minutes, but scored three points on three shots.

Isaac Okoro scored five points and took two shots.

Indiana knows these guys don't want to shoot and aren't worried about them.

6) If you circle one play, it's Tyrese Haliburton's missed free throw.

Haliburton misses, charges the boards, grabs his own rebound, and takes it back to prepare for his game-winner.

Grab that rebound, Cleveland wins.

7) Cleveland did receive 23 points from Max Strus, who had a good game until his lousy pass caused a late turnover, and was given 14 points from Sam Merrill, who hit four three-pointers.

8) What concerns me is how Indiana is beating up the Cavaliers.

I'm not blaming the referees, I'm blaming the team for not standing up to the Pacers, and it's too late to bring someone in.

Jarrett Allen might be too nice, and outside of the washed-up Tristan Thompson, there is no one on the bench to push someone around.

Koby Altman has created a fun team to watch and one that is filled with players who are fun to root for, but that may not be a championship team without someone to bang around and take no quarter from opponents.

I'm not sure how Cleveland adds a player of that type, but they need one in the worst way.

9) Cleveland trails two games to none, so they must split in Indiana to avoid a sweep and have hope for a series win.

Which of Garland, Mobley, and Hunter can play in game three?

They need at least two of the three, I think.

Win game three and hope is back, lose it and it will be a long off-season in Cleveland.

Cavaliers surprised by Pacers in Game One

     The Indiana Pacers started fast and finished strong. 

And for the first time, the Cleveland Cavaliers missed the injured Darius Garland as the Pacers upset the Cavaliers in game one of the Eastern Conference semi-finals 121-112 in Cleveland.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with thirty-three points, and Evan Mobley scored twenty points with ten rebounds.

Game two will be in Cleveland on Tuesday as Cleveland will attempt to tie the series at one game apiece.

Swashbucklings

1) Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, but he shot the ball thirty times (13 of 30) and hit only one of his eleven shots from three-point land.

2) I know Mitchell is the focus of the offense with Darius Garland injured, but Cleveland works best when Mitchell takes fewer shots, not more.

It's not Mitchell's fault that the shots from Garland need to be replaced somewhere, but it showed that Mitchell cannot be the be-all and end-all for the Cavaliers to be effective.

3) Indiana likes to force a faster pace, and it seemed the Cavaliers wore down as the evening progressed.

It's fair to wonder if the pace will be a factor if the series goes six or seven games.

4) Indiana shot 53 percent from the floor and 52 percent from three-point distance while Cleveland shot 45 percent overall and a pitiful 23 percent from three.

5) A scary point came when DeAndre Hunter took a huge bump on the floor and appeared fortunate to avoid injury.

Hunter continued to play, but for a minute, it looked very ugly.

6) It's one loss, and even though the loss of home-court advantage (for now) is concerning, the bigger concern is Darius Garland.

When will Garland return, and how effective will he be when that happens?

For all that Ty Jerome has delivered this season, he isn't quick defensively (making Tyrese Haliburton even more effective for Indiana), and Indiana took advantage of Jerome's defense.

7) Cleveland didn't look sharp off a week's layoff, but Indiana wasn't active either, and it didn't affect them.

Game two at home is now a must-have.

Extinguished! Cavaliers sweep Heat by 55!

      The Cleveland Cavaliers turned the Heat off in Miami as Cleveland crushed Miami 138-83 in game four of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals and swept the Heat from the playoffs.

The Cavaliers led by thirty-nine at halftime and kept rolling through the second half. clearing the bench before the end of the third quarter.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with twenty-two points, aided by Ty Jerome's eighteen to lead the Cleveland offense, which finished with six players in double-figures.

Cleveland will now wait to meet the winner of the Indiana-Milwaukee series, which the Pacers are one game away from clinching, holding a 3-1 series lead.

Swashbucklings

1) Miami looked like a team that was going through the motions, and that is being generous.

Miami shot only thirty-six percent, and other than Nikola Jovic (who scored twenty-four points), had no one interested in anything other than getting to their vacation.

2) Cleveland owned leads of 26 (end of 1st), 39 (end of 2nd), 47 (end of 3rd), and 55 (end of game)- Woof.

3) Cleveland held Darius Garland out again to avoid aggravating a toe injury.

This was a great idea, not only because the Cavaliers dominated the game without Garland but because they were looking toward the future.

Sometimes, the player presses to play even in a game that he doesn't need, and worsens the injury.

4) Another strong game from DeAndre Hunter with nineteen points, with three three-pointers.

If Cleveland manages to make a deep run in these playoffs, the trade for DeAndre Hunter will be one that paid major dividends.

5) Cleveland led by as many as SIXTY points and set an NBA record for the size of victory in a series, winning the four games by a combined 122 points.

6) I don't have a preference between Indiana and Milwaukee, but I would like to see the Bucks win tonight to put a little more mileage on the winner's legs entering the series against Cleveland.

Cavaliers crush Heat in Game Three

   The Cleveland Cavaliers rolled into Miami looking to finish off the Miami Heat in four games.

And in game three, the Cavaliers accomplished half their goal with a dominating 124-87 victory in game three of their Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series.

Six Cavaliers finished with double-figures, led by Jarrett Allen's twenty-two and DeAndre Hunter's twenty-one.

Cleveland can complete the sweep Monday night in Miami.

Swashbucklings

1) It's hard to imagine, but the Cavaliers were this destructive on a bad shooting afternoon by Donovan Mitchell, who finished with thirteen points on four for fourteen shooting.

2) As a team, Cleveland shot fifty-three percent from the floor while Miami shot forty-two percent.

In basketball, if you have a ratio of eleven points in shooting percentage, most of the time, you win.

3) Earlier, Evan Mobley was announced as the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year.

I was surprised that Mobley won and not because he didn't deserve it, he did.

Usually, players need a year of nomination for such awards before they actually win them.

4) Excellent game from DeAndre Hunter off the bench with his 21 points on six of eight shooting.

Hunter's plus-minus for the game was a stunning plus thirty-four,

5) Cleveland outscored Miami 33-5 at one point in the first half, and you could see the air release from the Heat, they knew early this game was over.

6) All of this was achieved without Darius Garland, who sat out with a toe injury,

Smart move by Kenny Atkinson to get Garland 100 percent for the future and I would sit him Monday as well.

Send it in Jerome! Cleveland wins Game One

 The Cleveland Cavaliers backcourt took over the game from the Miami Heat as the Cavaliers grabbed a 121-100 win in game one of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals in Cleveland.

Donovan Mitchell scored thirty points to lead Cleveland's scoring and was aided by backcourt mate Darius Garland's twenty-seven and twenty-eight points from Ty Jerome off the bench.

Game two will take place on Wednesday.

Swashbucklings

1) The story was the sizzling shooting of Ty Jerome, who might have the best story of a team filled with them this season.

Jerome hit ten of fifteen shots, five of ten in three-pointers, grabbed five rebounds, and had three assists.

It's not bad for a guy who was signed almost as an afterthought in the off-season.

2) Donovan Mitchell's thirty points were the seventh consecutive game one which he finished with thirty or more points.

It seems like one of those stats someone dug up and wasn't thought of often, but it shows that Mitchell has gotten off to a good start in his playoff appearances.

3) The Cavaliers throughout the game led consistently from eight to twelve points, but Miami didn't allow that big run to stretch the lead out of control until the fourth quarter.

Miami made the playoffs when they became the first tenth seed to win two road games in the NBA's play-in tournament, and it's fair to consider how much wear they had on their legs after three games in five days.

4) Ty Jerome was the key in the fourth quarter when Cleveland locked up the win, scoring ten consecutive points during a 13-4 run.

5) Cleveland will need more offense from their big men in future games, as Jarrett Allen (12 pts) and Evan Mobley (9 pts) shot the ball only eighteen times between them.

Allen and Mobley must be more active on the offensive for the Cavaliers to thrive as the opponents become more varied and higher quality.